Corvette takes to the Big Apple to celebrate 60th anniversary of original launch

Exactly 60 years to the day that the automotive world first laid its eyes on Chevrolet Corvette, the newly introduced seventh-generation model is appearing in New York City to mark the historic date. Unveiled at the General Motors Motorama car show on January 17, 1953, the Corvette has since become an icon of the sports car world both in the US and around the globe.

2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

The 2014 Corvette Stingray had its official debut this week at the 2013 Detroit Auto Show, and we are sure it will end up being the most popular car for visitors to ogle. What's more, it was our top Editors' Choice, after all. For those of you who won't be able to see it in Detroit or New York, the new Corvette will be going on sale this fall.

Scroll down for a GM press release that contains some interesting facts about the Corvette, including its original starting price of just $3,498.

The Corvette was originally championed by GM's legendary styling director Harley Earl, who insisted there was room for an American entry in the European-dominated sports car market. It was also his idea for Corvette to have a fiberglass body.

Corvette was named for a small and fast class of naval ships.

The 1953 Corvette had a base price of $3,498 and offered only two options – a heater for $91 and an AM radio for $145.

Every Corvette model has used innovative materials, from fiberglass in 1953 to advanced carbon-nano technology and carbon fiber on the 2014 Corvette Stingray.

A V-8 engine was first available in 1955. That year, it was selected by 90 percent of customers. After that, all Corvettes featured strictly V-8 power.

The Stingray name was first used for a prototype race car, the design of which influenced the second-generation Corvette that debuted in 1963. The 1963 Corvette Sting Ray split-window coupe has since been called one of the most beautiful and influential designs in automotive history.

Corvette's legacy of mainstreaming technology previously reserved for high-end luxury cars includes the introduction of fuel injection in 1957, independent rear suspension in 1963, four-wheel disc brakes in 1965, antilock brakes in 1986 and a tire-pressure monitoring system in 1989.

Corvette is the longest-running, continually produced sports car in the world.

Nearly 2 million Chevrolet Corvettes have been sold since it went on sale in 1953 and in 2012, it accounted for approximately one-third of all sports car sales in America.

Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world's largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4.5 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design, and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.